Method and modular-multistation device for folding profiles

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method and multistation device for folding profiles. The folding stations ( 1, 11, 15, 16, 17 ) required are modules mounted interchangeable and adjustable on a common machine body ( 2 ), which permits quick and simple adaption to the folding requirements. It is thus possible, with one single machine, to implement a whole series of folding processes. With regard to the machine operation, such stations are selected as needed, fitted and set depending on folding criterion.

This application is a 371 of PCT/EP98/02418, filed Apr. 23, 1998.

The submitted invention concerns itself with a method and a device tobend metal sections (in particular hollow sections) according to thepreamble of patent claim 1.

Such a method has become known, for example, with the object of the EP492 211. The essence of this known method is, that two rollers oppositeeach other form a rolling gap, through which the section to be bent isfed by means of a driving force, whereby the bending then occurs becauseof the rotary drive of the opposing bending rollers in connection withthe effective forward thrust. In addition, there are, with the knownarrangement, still more guided rollers opposing each other, which areintended to prevent bulges and nicks of the section to be bent.

The disadvantage of the known method is, that it requires an expensivethrust station which uses a high thrusting force (in the range ofseveral tons), to feed the section to be bent in between therotationally driven bending rollers in order to achieve a requiredshape.

The assigned rollers are hereby not movably arranged in the X-direction(longitudinal direction of the section to be bent), but they arestationary on a machine bed. Thereby there is the disadvantage that weare dealing with a closed design machine, which cannot be modified orcombined. If it is necessary to use another method of bending or to bendin a different way, it is necessary to design a completely new machine,which is very expensive to do.

Therefore, it is the task of the submitted invention to advance a methodand a device for the bending of hollow metal sections, according to thepreamble of the patent claim 1, in such a manner that a universalmachine will be created, making it possible to interchange individualbending stations, to completely remove or rearrange them, with the goalof creating universally applicable bending machine.

The solution of this task is accomplished through the technical conceptof claim 1.

An essential feature of this invention is, that the total roller bendingstation consists of separate roller stations, of which each rollerstation has at least one roller, which is placed against the section tobe bent and that each roller station is assigned a different bendingtask and that in addition each roller station is modularly exchangeableand is arranged so that each one is adjustable and removable from acommon machine body. In addition, a mandrel can be provided on theinside of the section for the purpose of support.

With the given technical concept, the essential advantage is that acompletely modular construction of the total bending machine ispresented. It shall also be mentioned, that the bending machine at handis not only suited for bending of closed hollow metal sections, but thatthese hollow sections can be partially or totally open. With all bendingprocesses it is always important, that in the (possibly also partiallyopen) hollow space, a ball mandrel or a mandrel shank is brought along,which is kept stationary within the range of bending, so that the hollowsection to be bent is optimally supported within the range of bendingand is protected against bulges, nicks or against any other kind ofdeformation.

With the given modular construction, the essential advantage that auniversally applicable bending machine is obtained, so that with thisbending machine a number of different banding tasks can be accomplished,without the necessity,—as is the case at the present state oftechnology—of having to design and build a completely new machine withdifferent processing capabilities.

The essence of the invention is, the modular construction, whereby anumber of roller stations are arranged in an adjustable and engagingmanner on a common machine body. It is preferable to arrange theindividual roller stations adjustably on so-called X/Y-slides, wherebyit is sufficient for individual roller stations to only allow anadjustment in the Y-direction, while an adjustment in the X-direction isnot applicable.

In the first preferred design of the invention, a so-calledroller-bending is planned (bending left or right), in such a way that onone side of the hollow section to be bent in the X-Y direction, thereare positioned next to each other and at mutually adjustable distances,a bending station, a guide- and rolling station and a support station.Each of the named stations has at least one roller, whereby it is leftopen whether all rollers are rotationally driven or not. In onepreferred design, it is planned that the roller of the bending station(bending roller) is not rotationally driven, while the rolling- andguide roller of the guide- and rolling station is rotationally drivenand the support roller of the support station is also not rotationallydriven.

It is important, that opposite to this construction there is a centerroller station arranged, which consists of a single, rotationally drivencenter roller, which is exchangeable and which can be replaced by otherrollers of different diameters and shapes. This exchangeability alsoapplies to the other above-mentioned rollers.

Herewith it is then important that, for example, the center roller ofthe center roller station, as arranged on an assigned slide, is onlyadjustable in the Y-direction so that the adjustment in the X-directionis not required. Conversely, the three roller stations mentioned above(bending station, support station and guide- and rolling station) aredesigned to be adjusted in the X-Y-direction. In this manner, it is nowpossible for the first time, to effect a left bending and a rightbending, because with the so-called left-bending of a section, whenviewed from the top, the three mentioned roller stations are positionedabove, while the center roller station is positioned below. If, on theother hand, a section is supposed to be bent to the right, there occursthe opposite arrangement whereby the three mentioned stations arepositioned below and the center roller station is positioned above.

It is important, that the three mentioned stations which engage on oneside of the section to be bent, can also be understood as a module inthemselves and that this total module, consisting of the three mentionedstations, can be simply drawn out of the machine bed and reintroducedand secured on the opposite side.

It is also possible, because of the modular construction, to interchangethe entry side of the total roller bending station with the exit side ofthe same roller bending station, in order to achieve right or leftbending.

In an analog fashion, this is also applicable for the interchangedplacement of the center roller station which is positioned on the lowerside on the machine bed, when bending left and on the opposite side(upper), when bending right.

In a further development of the submitted invention, it is planned, thatthere will also be so-called alternate bending; with this design theadvantage of a modular construction of the invented machine is againdemonstrated. Here it is planned that the three previously-mentionedroller stations have arranged on the opposite side, in relation to thehollow section to be bent, three similar roller stations. Thepreviously-mentioned modular construction, whereby the three mentionedroller stations are considered as a single module, will now becomplemented by a further module which also consists of the threementioned stations. There are then two similar modules, each consistingof three roller stations, positioned opposite to each other and fastenedto the machine bed, and they provide the rolling- or bending gap for thehollow section to be bent.

With this kind of arrangement, it is possible to achieve a so-calledalternate-roller-bending, so that the section may either be bent to theleft or to the right with different radii.

In a third design of the invention, a so-called core-roller-bending isplanned where again on one side of the section two or three rollerstations are placed against the section, whereby the presence of tworoller stations is preferred, of which the one roller station is theguide- and rolling station and the other is the support station, andthat both of these stations are arranged opposite to a core bendingstation, which is provided with a rotationally driven core, on which astationary clamp die is mounted, which accepts the front, free-end ofthe section to be bent. The section will be bent around the core withtorque by means of an attractive force opposing the rotation, wherebythe core is moving (winding process), and the previously-mentionedroller stations allow the section to be cleanly pressed onto the corewithin the range of bending.

In addition, it is planned in a further development, that in between theso-called roller stations, there will be one or more pressure diesarranged, to prevent the section to be bent from developing creases ordeformities in between the so-called roller stations.

It shall be stressed again, that an important advantage of the inventionlies in the fact, that practically, there are only two mutuallyopposite, rotationally-driven rollers, namely the rotationally-drivenroller of the guide- and rolling station, which as a rule is the centerroller of the three on one side positioned roller stations, while thereis positioned on the opposite side to this guide- and rolling station, arotationally-driven center roller of the center roller station. Becauseboth of these rollers of the mutually opposite stations arerotationally-driven, an otherwise expensive push device can be donewithout, as it was described with the object of the older EP 492 211 B1.With this expensively designed push station, an extraordinary thrust inthe range of several tons had to be produced, which was expressed in acorrespondingly high cost of the machine. Also the EP 492 211 B1 wasdesigned in a way that required two or more rotationally-driven rollers,which resulted in a correspondingly higher cost of the machine.

With this invention, there is now the advantage that a highlydimensioned push station is not needed, because the only thrust drive iseffected by the mutually opposite rollers, whereby a high degree offriction is achieved, i.e. these rollers alone advance the section to bebent and an expensive push station is not required. Contrary to theconventional three-roller-machines, this invention has the advantagethat the forward drive of the section to be bent can be purposefullyadjusted by means of positioning the separate roller stations for thesection on hand. This was not possible with previously known machines.

With the submitted invention, a carriage is also provided, which is putagainst the rear side of the section to be bent. The carriage ismoveably driven on a carriage track on the machine bed. However, thiscarriage can only run along so that no thrust can be exerted on thesection to be bent. This makes it possible to accurately measure along astraight measuring distance to determine the bending length of thehollow section. With this measuring system, which is contained in thecarriage, it is now possible for the first time to bend to highlyprecise frame requirements, because this measuring system, which iscontained in the carriage, is much more accurate than known measuringsystems. Measuring systems of the known kind only measure the passinglength of the section by means of a roller, friction-connected to thesection.

One problem of the known measuring rollers was, that these measuringrollers could never be positioned within the neutral range of bending ofthe hollow section to be bent, which already caused the measuringresults to be faulty. With this invention this is prevented, because thementioned X-measuring system is contained in the carriage which isrunning along.

The mentioned carriage additionally serves the purpose that the section,if required, can be drawn in the direction opposite to the transportdirection by use of the carriage, i.e. an attractive force is exerted onthe section to be bent, counter to the drive of the roller bendingstations, which is especially the case with the so-calledcore-roller-bending.

The mentioned carriage also serves to simplify the threading of a hollowsection to be bent, into the roller bending stations, whereby thiscarriage then moves close to the threading station near the rollerbending station and the hollow section to be bent is inserted from theoutlet side into the roller bending station. From there, it is pushedthrough until it is caught by the carriage, whereupon it is drawn to therear into its start-to-bending position.

The object of the submitted invention is not only derived from theobject of the separate patent claims, but also from the combination ofthe separate patent claims to each other.

Everything in the documentation, including the summary, disclosedinformation and characteristics, especially spatial construction asdepicted in the drawings, are claimed to be essential for the invention,as long as they are new with regard to the state-of-the-art, eitherseparately or in combination.

Following is a more detailed explanation of the invention, providingrepresentative drawings of various applications. In this manner, fromthe drawings and their descriptions, further characteristics essentialto the invention and advantages of the invention are brought forth.

Shown are in:

FIG. 1: schematic of a device for roller bending of a hollow section inits first design form;

FIG. 2: Perspective view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3: A magnified view of the bending of a hollow section in theroller bending station;

FIG. 4 The same view as in FIG. 3 with changed positioning of the rollerstations;

FIG. 5: A different design form as in FIG. 2 shows the machine bendingto the right;

FIG. 6: A comparison of FIGS. 3 and 4—A more detailed drawing of amodified design form of the machine for roller bending.

FIG. 7. View of FIG. 6 when bending a frame;

FIG. 8: The same view as in FIG. 7 when bending a frame with small andlarge bending radii;

FIG. 9: The function of the roller bending station when bending in acircle;

FIG. 10: The roller bending station according to the invention in thefunction of the alternate-roller-bending;

FIG. 11: The same view as in FIG. 10 but with more progressed bending;

FIG. 12: The same view as in FIGS. 10 and 11 with further progression ofbending;

FIG. 13: A perspective view of a machine for performing thealternate-roller-bending;

FIG. 14: The perspective view of a machine for core-roller-bending;

FIG. 15: Schematic of the bending process with core-roller-bending witha machine, as in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16: Progression of bending on machine as in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17: Modification of a machine for core-roller-bending;

FIG. 18: The same view as in FIG. 17 with further progression inbending;

FIG. 19: Modified design with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 20: A modification with respect to FIGS. 15 to 18 with a differentkind of core, which is centrally-fixed.

According to the invention, the machine essentially consists of a rollerbending station, designated in its entirety with 1, which consists of arow of roller stations. In the depicted example of the design, withregard to FIG. 1, the roller bending station 1 consists of a bendingstation 17, arranged at the end of the section to be bent 4, anadjoining guide- and roller station 15 positioned about in the middle,and a downward-positioned support station 16. These roller stations 15to 17 are arranged on one side of the section to be bent 4, while on theopposite side is a provision for a center roller station 11, whichconsists of a single rotationally-driven center roller 13.

The section to be bent is herewith located parallel and above a carriagetrack 2, on which a carriage 3 is positioned, which is depicted movablein the X-direction. Inside the section 4 is a mandrel, which consists ofa mandrel rod 7, which is connected to an assigned drive of mandrelstation 5 by means of a clutch 10. In addition, there is a provision fora drive 6 for the carriage 3.

Located on the mandrel rod 7 is a mandrel shank on which are mounted arow of mandrel balls 9.

The shape and design of the mandrel is not decisive with regard to theinvention; a simple mandrel shaft with balls or segments can also beused.

In FIG. 2, further details of machine construction with regard to FIG. 1can be recognized.

Herewith, it is important that each roller station is located on aseparate X-Y-carriage and that all of the roller stations are mounted inan adjustable and securable manner in the X-Y-direction on the machinebody 18. The X-adjustment of the stations 15 to 17 in total, dependsupon the size of the section. The movement in the Y-direction isnecessary, in order to optimally perform the bending process. Herewith,for example, a slide 24 is assigned to bending station 17, with theslide being mounted in the X-Y-direction on the machine body 18.

A bending roller 27 is assigned to bending station 17, a rolling- andguide roller 28 is assigned to the guide- and rolling station 15 and asupport roller 29 is assigned to the support station 16.

With the help of lead screws 19 a, 19 b, 19 c, the separate stations15-17 are adjustably constructed and secured in the X-direction. Theadjustment drives for the adjustment of the separate rollers 27 to 29,respectively the stations 15-17, in the Y-direction are not furthershown. This is effected, for example, by hydraulic cylinders or likewiseby lead screw drives.

In the same manner, the center roller station 11 is also modularlyconstructed and attached to the machine body 18, whereby a drive 23 isprovided for the rotation of the center roller 13 around the axis 12.

In FIG. 2, it is more clearly shown that the carriage 3 on the carriagetrack 2 is constructed to be movable in the X-direction, whereby a guiderope 21 is provided, and is guided over a pulley 59. This pulley isfastened to the machine body 18. The movement of carriage 3 is exactlyconcurrent with the drive of the rollers 28, 13, which are positionedopposite each other, so that the carriage 3 is simply running along withit.

Further, FIG. 2—and also on FIG. 5—depicts the drive 2 for the rotationof the center rolling- and guide rollers.

In comparison to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows a magnified view of the bendingprocess, when the section is being bent to the left.

Herewith, in comparison to FIG. 3, it can be seen, that the spacing 31between the modularly arranged stations 15-17, is adjustable andsecurable. It is further specified that the spacing 35 between theseparate stations 15-17, is also individually adjustable.

The spacing adjustment 20 in the X-direction occurs—as previouslystated—with the help of the individually activated slides 19 a, 19 c.

The center roller 13 consists, in the design shown, of a roller ofsmaller diameter, which is arranged between two discs 14 (FIGS. 1, 2) oflarger diameter, whereby the discs, at least partially, overlap thesection to be bent from above and below and the diameter of the centerroller 13, engages on the side of the section to be bent.

Of course, the forms of all rollers shown, are fitted to the section tobe bent, as required.

In a comparison between FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, it becomes apparent that thespacing 37 between the outer bending roller 27 and the center roller 13,positioned on the opposite side (and their axis 36), is constructed toallow adjustment. In this way, sections with large radii (FIG. 3) andlarge cross-sections or also—according to FIG. 4—sections with smallerradii and smaller cross-sections, can be bent as required.

With the design of FIG. 3, for example, a pressure 33 of about 50 kN isprovided by the center rolling- and guide roller, with a sectioncross-section in the range of between 40 to 220 mm.

Herewith it is provided that this rolling- and guide roller 28 is drivenin the direction of the arrow 30′, while the center roller 13 is drivenin the direction of the arrow 30.

FIG. 3 shows additionally that a relatively small center roller 13 canbe exchanged with a suitably larger designed center roller 13′. In thismanner, a better bending quality is achieved.

FIG. 4 also shows, that with such an arrangement, very tight radii canbe bent with section cross-sections of, for example, 40 mm.

FIG. 5 shows the modular construction, where in comparison to FIG. 2, itcan be seen that the modularly constructed stations 15-17 were merelymoved from one side to the other side of the machine body, and that thecenter roller station 11 was also moved to the opposite side.

Here it can be further seen, that a slide 24 was provided for thebending station 17, a slide 25 for the guide- and rolling station 15 anda slide 26 for the support station 16. All the slides mentioned aredesigned to be adjustable and securable in the X-Y-direction.

With such an arrangement, as shown in FIG. 5, it is therefore possibleto bend the section to be bent to the right.

Because of the shown measuring device, which is contained in carriage 3,and which allows an exact measurement of the section to be bent in theX-direction, it can be seen in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, that frames with roundcomers can also be bent very exactly. Herewith it is essential, thatbetween the rolling- and guide roller 28 and the support roller 29, twopressure dies 39, 40 are arranged opposite each other, which aredesigned to be stationary and which from both sides are placed to makefriction-contact against the section cross-section to be bent. The lowerpressure die 39 acts in this manner as a wiper die, and the upperpressure die 40 as a guide die.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the various rollers of the variousstations in the direction of the arrows 32 and 34 can be adjustablyconstructed. Additionally, it is shown in FIG. 3, that the mentionedstations are also adjustably constructed, in the direction of the arrow38 (Y-direction), whereby it is sufficient in the depicted designexample to construct the center station 11 only adjustable in theY-direction (set-up direction 38), while an adjustment in theX-direction is not required. But this does not limit the invention; theinvention can also be designed so that the center roller station 11 isadjustable and securable in X and Y.

FIG. 8 shows in comparison to FIG. 7, that on the basis of an exactlyexecuted bending process, it is not only possible to bend such a framewith straight section segments but it is also possible to additionallyprovide for bent section segments 43.

Therefore it is possible, to very exactly bend a frame with small andlarge bending radii.

FIG. 9 shows in comparison to FIG. 8, that with an appropriateadjustment of the individual roller stations 15-17, in connection withthe center roller station 11, a complete circle (bent section segment44) can also be bent.

It is also possible to form this complete circle as a spiral, whereby itis additionally required that the already bent, free end of sectionsegment 44 is upwardly deflected by means of a sheet-metal guide whichis adjustable in the Z-direction, so that a spiral bend is madepossible.

Here it is also shown, that in the adjustment directions 42 the variousroller stations are designed to be adjustable and that further, apressure 33 in the indicated direction of the arrow, is exerted by thecenter rolling- and guide roller 28 upon the section to be bent.

Because of the different sizes of the mutually-opposing rollers 13, 28,a friction is produced between the opposing form cross-sections on oneand the same spot of the section, resulting in a flaring effect, whichmeans that the section in the range of the rolling- and guide roller 28will be more rolled out and thinned in this area than, for example, inthe area of the center roller 13, on the opposing side.

Thereby, the bending process for the bending of the bent section segment43, 44 is supported in a positive manner.

In the FIGS. 10 to 13, a so-called alternate-roller-bending is depicted,whereby it can be seen that because of the given modular constructionthe center roller station 11 has been removed and in its place anothermodule, consisting of the stations 15-17, is positioned on the oppositeside, as it is shown in the FIGS. 10 and 11. Dealing with the samemodular parts, the newly-added parts are identified with an apostrophe.

Depending on set-up direction 42 and the post-application of pressure33, a so-called alternate bending can now occur, which means it ispossible to bend any desired, one behind the other, right or leftoriented radii of any size.

Herewith, for example, it can be seen that the spacing between theoppositely-positioned bending rollers 27, 27′, in the direction of thearrow 42 (direction of), is changeable and that depending on the desiredbend, the spacing as well as the pressure of these bending rollers 27,27′ on the section to be bent, is designed to be adjustable. In thismanner an exact guidance of the hollow section to be bent isaccomplished.

FIG. 12 shows a further progressed state of the alternate bendingprocess, where it can be seen that radii with different centers 45 a, b,c, can be bent.

The advantage of the measures shown of all design examples is, that onlyone double drive is required, i.e. either only two rollers, opposingeach other, are driven or only one roller is driven and the second driveis substituted by a push, which is exerted by the carriage 3 in theX-direction upon the section to be bent.

With this design it would only be required to rotationally drive thecenter roller 13 of the center roller station 11, while the carriage 3in the X-direction only accomplishes the further drive upon the section.

With alternate bending according to FIGS. 10 to 13, the center roller 13is then removed and in its place the rolling- and guide roller 28′ isadjustably-mounted on the machine body 18. In addition to this roller,further rollers of the complementary stations, namely the bending roller27′ and the support roller 29′, can be employed.

These rollers 27′, 29′, are necessary in any case, because these rollersmust absorb the action forces originating from the bending process.

In the FIGS. 14 to 19 the so-called core-roller-bending will bedescribed in more detail.

In a comparison of the representation in FIG. 14 with therepresentations in FIGS. 2, 5 and 13, the universal applicability of theinvented machine can be recognized.

The same parts are identified with the same reference symbol.

It is important that only the two roller stations 15, 16 are present, towhich the known and previously-described rolling- and guide roller 28and the support roller 29, are assigned to.

In place of the previously-described center roller 13 and the centerroller station 11 belonging to it, is a core bending station 46 with anassigned, rotationally-driven core 50. The previously-described bendingroller 27 is not applicable.

Rotating with the core 50, which is adjustable in its axis 56 in theX-Y-direction and capable to be rotationally-driven in the direction ofthe arrow 30 and in the opposite direction, there is a connected clampdie 52, which grips the front, free end of the section to be bent.

The core bending station 46 consists of an X-slide 49 and a Y-slide 48,where both are adjustable, separate from each other, in the nameddirections and where both are mounted together on the machine bed 47,which is attached in a modular fashion to the machine body 18.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show further details of this device.

It can be seen that between the rollers 28, 29, a pressure- and guidedie 54 is positioned, which makes friction-contact on one side of thesection and in this manner provides for high-quality bending, because itcauses the section to be bent 4 to be pressed against the outercircumference of the rotationally-driven core 50.

The bending action occurs herewith in the area of the axis of roller 28,whereby pressure is exerted in the direction of the arrow 33. This canespecially be seen in FIG. 16.

This pressure has in turn a flaring effect on this side of the section,while the opposite side rests against the outer circumference of thecore with a diminished rolling operation.

In addition, a pull is exerted by the carriage 3 upon the section to bebent, in the direction of the arrow 51, so that the section subject tothe attractive tension is wound onto the core, while the core rotates inthe direction of the arrow 30 and, if need be, with its axis 56 isconstructed adjustable in the X-Y-direction during rotation.

Herewith, it is therefore essential that the carriage not only runsalong and serves as a length measuring system, but that it can also bedriven to move in the indicated direction of the arrow 51, in order toexert a tractive force in the direction of the arrow 51 upon the freeend of the section to be bent.

The carriage therefore, exerts the described tractive force upon thetotal length of the section to be bent in the area of connection betweenthe carriage 3 and the clamp die 52.

The described tractive force therefore will stretch the section.

The described selection process by the roller 28, and the describedstretching process by the carriage 3, benefits the accuracy of bendingwith a minimum possible swelling of the section to be bent.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show the application of another core 53, but wherebyotherwise the same explanations apply, which were given with regard toFIGS. 15 and 16. Here the core can be driven in the direction of thearrow 30 and in the counter direction. For the bending of the firstcorner 60, the section to be bent is positioned as shown in FIG. 18,where the first corner 60 is now already shown bent. In order to bendthe next corner 61, it is planned that then the clamp die 52 opens,swings back into its starting position as shown in FIG. 17, and closes.The carriage 3 feeds the section forward, counter to the indicateddirection of the arrow 51, to the beginning of the bend of corner 61;this corner will then be bent according to FIG. 18. This process willthen be repeated to the last corner 62, which has just been bent asshown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 19 shows as a further design example the bending around a circularcore 58, whereby the same explanations apply as previously-stated.

In order to achieve a complete 360 degree bend, it is planned that theclamp die 52 opens, returns a portion of the path, closes again andcontinues to bend the bend to 360 degrees and beyond, with a rotatingcore 58, whereby the already-close-to 360 degree-bent tube is guided ona sloping approach path over the bending station, in order to bend acomplete circle or a spiral exceeding a complete circle.

This deflector is not shown in FIG. 19 for reasons of simplification. Itis in addition simply represented that during the bending process theclamp die 52, separate from the core 58, is guided in the X-Y-directionand, if need be, is pressed against the core 58 in the direction of thearrow 57, radial to the core turning center.

With the given technical theory according to the submitted invention, anessential advantage is therefore realized, in that a multitude ofdifferent bending tasks can be accomplished with one and the samemachine, whereby by reason of the modular arrangement, the differentstations implement different bending processes, which proceed on one andthe same machine.

In connection with FIG. 13, the term machine body 18 comprises themodular stations 15-17 mounted on to it. The right part of the totalmachine is represented in FIG. 13.

It is then, that an identical machine body 18′ with the same mirrorimage constructed stations 15′, 16′, 17′ exists, so that it can bespoken of being two machine bodies 18, 18′ in total, with the modulesmounted upon it, who can be supplemented with regard to each other insuch a way that an alternate bending machine is achieved according toFIG. 13.

Out of this, the further advantage of the modular construction of thesubmitted invention is realized, in that not only separate modularstations exist, but that also the total machine body, with the identicalmodules mounted upon it, can be combined mirror image-like in a machinebody and in this manner a new kind of bending machine comes intoexistence.

Within the meaning of this definition, the machine body 18, 18′ can,therefore, be understood as a module.

A savings is then realized, that in this manner for such a doublemachine body 18, 18′, only a single carriage track 2 with a carriage 3and an assigned mandrel station 5 and a corresponding drive 6 isrequired.

In FIG. 20, it is shown as a further design example, that it is notnecessary to construct the various rollers 27-29 of the individualroller stations 15-17 in the same size. In order to save space, it canbe planned to construct the center rolling- and guide roller 28 in asmaller size and only have it adjustable in the Y-direction, while theother rollers 27 and 29 are designed to be adjustable in theX-Y-direction.

Because the rolling- and guide rollers 28 are kept smaller, it ispossible that the slide upon which the roller is positioned and,therefore, the total guide- and rolling station 15, can be substantiallyreduced in size and, therefore, the spacing of the axes of the bendingroller 27 and the support roller 29 with respect to the center roller13, can be reduced significantly.

Further it is shown in this design example, that the carriage 3 is notonly adjustable and easy to operate in the X-direction, but it can alsobe constructed to be additionally adjustable in the Y-direction.

The same applies to the mandrel station 5, which is also designed to beadjustable in the Y-direction and in the X-direction.

Drawing Legend (1) Roller bending station (2) Carriage track (3)Carriage (4) Section (5) Mandrel station (Hydraulic cylinder) (6) Drivefor carriage 3 (7) Mandrel rod (8) Mandrel shank (9) Mandrel ball (10)Clutch (11) Center roller station (12) Driven axis (13) Center roller13′ (14) Disc (15) Guide-and rolling station (16) Support station (17)Bending station (18) Machine body 18′ (19) Lead screw 19 a, 19 b, 19 c(20) Spacing adjustment (21) Guide rope (22) Drive for 15 (23) Drive for11 (24) Slide for 17 (25) Slide for 15 (26) Slide for 16 (27) Bendingroller 27′ (28) Rolling-and guide roller 28′ (29) Support roller 29′(30) Direction of arrow 30′ (31) Spacing (variable) (32) Direction ofadjustment (33) Pressure (34) Direction of arrow (35) Spacing (36) Axis(37) Spacing (38) Direction of set-up (39) Lower pressure die (40) Upperpressure die (41) Direction of arrow (42) Direction of adjustment (43)Bent section segment (44) Bent section segment (45) Center a, b, c (46)Core bending station (47) Machine bed (48) Lower Y-slide (49) X-slide(50) Core (51) Direction of arrow (52) Clamp die (53) Core (54) Pressureand guide die (55) Wiper die (56) Rotary axis (core 50, 53) (57)Direction of arrow (58) Core (59) Pulley (60) Corner (61) Corner (62)Corner

What is claimed is:
 1. A bending apparatus, comprising: a roller bendingstation for selectively bending a section into any one of a plurality ofdifferent bend profiles, the roller bending station having a bendingarea where a section is bent; a guide assembly for guiding a section ina predetermined path into the bending area; the bending station having afirst, center roller on one side of a section in the bending area, andat least two additional rollers on the opposite side of the section; atleast the center roller comprising a driven roller; and the additionalrollers each being independently adjustable in an x and y direction. 2.The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are three additionalrollers, the additional rollers comprise a central, guide and rollingroller opposing said first, center roller, a bending roller positioneddownstream of the guide and rolling roller in the bending area, and asupport roller positioned prior to the guide and rolling roller in thesection path.
 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the guideand rolling roller is a driven roller.
 4. The apparatus as claimed inclaim 2, wherein each additional roller is adjustable in an x and ydirection independently from the other two additional rollers.
 5. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a common machine body onwhich the bending station is mounted, the bending station comprising aplurality of separate roller stations, each roller station having atleast one roller, and each roller station being adjustably and removablymounted on the machine body and being modularly exchangeable formodifying the bend profile.
 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1,including a mandrel positioned in the bending area for supporting asection to be bent on the inside.
 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim1, including a movable carriage for supporting an end of a sectionremote from the bending area.
 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1,including a core bending station removably mountable on the machinebody.
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the core bendingstation includes a rotationally driven core and a clamp die for grippingthe section to be bent.
 10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe bending station includes at least one pressure die located adjacentone of the rollers and adapted to make contact with an outer surface ofa section to be bent.
 11. A bending apparatus, comprising: a machine bedalong which a section to be bent can be guided; a roller bendingassembly mounted on the machine bed for selectively bending a sectioninto any one of a plurality of different bend profiles; a guide assemblyfor guiding a section on a predetermined path into the roller bendingassembly; the roller bending assembly comprising a plurality ofseparate, modularly exchangeable roller stations each removably mountedon the machine bed, the roller stations comprising a first center rollerstation positioned in a bending area on one side of a section to bebent, and at least two additional roller stations positioned on theopposite side of the section to be bent; each of the roller stationshaving a roller acting against a portion of a section to be bent; atleast one of the rollers comprising a driven roller; the roller of oneof the additional roller stations comprising a guide and rolling rollerpositioned opposite the roller of the center roller station; and anadjustment device for pressing the guide and rolling roller against thesection to be bent with a predetermined driving force, whereby thrustdrive is effected by the mutually opposing rollers.
 12. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the guide and rolling roller and the rollerof the central roller station are both rotationally driven, wherebythrust drive is effected by the mutually opposing rollers.
 13. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein there are three additionalrollers, the additional rollers comprising the guide and rolling rolleropposing the roller of said central rolling station, a bending rollerpositioned downstream of the guide and rolling roller in the bendingarea, and a support roller positioned prior to the guide and rollingroller in the section path.
 14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13,wherein the guide and rolling roller is a driven roller.
 15. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein each additional roller isadjustable in an x and y direction independently from the other twoadditional rollers.
 16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, includinga mandrel positioned in the bending area for supporting a section to bebent on the inside.
 17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, whereinthe bending assembly comprises a core bending station removablymountable on the machine body.
 18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17,wherein the core bending station includes a rotationally driven core anda clamp die for gripping the section to be bent.
 19. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the bending station includes at least onepressure die located adjacent one of the rollers and adapted to makecontact with an outer surface of a section to be bent.
 20. A method ofbending a section into any one of a plurality of different predeterminedbend profiles, comprising the steps of: selection of a predeterminedcombination of separate roller stations for co-operating to achieve apredetermined bend profile, including a central roller station forpositioning on one side of a section to be bent in a bending area, andat least two additional roller stations for positioning on the oppositeside of the section to be bent; mounting each of the roller stationsseparately on a common machine body; adjusting the relative positions ofthe roller stations according to the predetermined bend profile;introducing the section to be bent into the bending area between theroller stations; positioning one of the additional roller stations suchthat a guide roller of the additional roller station presses against thesection with a predetermined driving force and is positioned opposite anopposing roller of the central roller station and rotatably driving bothof the opposing rollers so as to apply a thrust drive to the section tobe bent; and starting the bending process.
 21. A method of bending asection into any one of a plurality of different predetermined bendprofiles, comprising the steps of: selection of a predeterminedcombination of separate roller stations for co-operating to achieve apredetermined bend profile, including a central roller station forpositioning on one side of a section to be bent in a bending area, andat least two additional roller stations for positioning on the oppositeside of the section to be bent; mounting each of the roller stationsseparately on a common machine body; adjusting the relative positions ofthe roller stations according to the predetermined bend profile;introducing the section to be bent into the bending area between theroller stations; starting the bending process; and moving at least someof the roller stations relative to the machine body and relative toother roller stations during the bending process.
 22. A method ofbending a section into any one of a plurality of different predeterminedbend profiles, comprising the steps of: selection of a predeterminedcombination of separate roller stations for co-operating to achieve apredetermined bend profile, including a central roller station forpositioning on one side of a section to be bent in a bending area, andat least two additional roller stations for positioning on the oppositeside of the section to be bent; mounting each of the roller stationsseparately on a common machine body; adjusting the relative positions ofthe roller stations according to the predetermined bend profile;introducing the section to be bent into the bending area between theroller stations; starting the bending process; and supporting thesection to be bent on a movable carriage for guiding the section intothe bending area, wherein the carriage is not driven and the section ismoved by operation of the bending process, and measuring the movement ofthe carriage in order to determine the length of the bent sectionsegments.
 23. A method of bending a section into any one of a pluralityof different predetermined bend profiles, comprising the steps of:selection of a predetermined combination of separate roller stations forco-operating to achieve a predetermined bend profile, including acentral roller station for positioning on one side of a section to bebent in a bending area, and at least two additional roller stations forpositioning on the opposite side of the section to be bent; mountingeach of the roller stations separately on a common machine body;adjusting the relative positions of the roller stations according to thepredetermined bend profile; introducing the section to be bent into thebending area between the roller stations; starting the bending process;and supporting the section to be bent on a movable carriage for guidingthe section into the bending area, moving the section in a firstdirection as a result of operation of the bending stations in thebending process, and driving the carriage in order to exert a force onthe section in a direction counter to the first direction during thebending process.